Introduction
This monograph entitled "Technology and Language
Learning" and has been divided into three chapters. Each
chapter has the purpose of provide relevant information about the
topic.
The first chapter is about English Language Learning,
for which it has been divided into four subtopics, which contain
definitions, types, Methods and factors that influence in the
language learning.
The second chapter is about Technology, where explain
the use of technology in education, the roles of teacher and
student, the benefits of the technology for language learning and
tools and material technology that help students to improve their
English language learning.
The third chapter concerns the Didactic Application for
which it has been divided into two subtopics, which contain
questions that have been specially formulated to focus and define
the teaching of the comparatives, and a didactic part in which is
showed a lesson plan that will be applied to a model
class.
CHAPTER I
English language
learning
TECHNOLOGY AND LANGUAGE
LEARNING
ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING
Learning is commonly defined as a process that brings
together cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences and
experiences for acquiring, enhancing, or making changes in one's
knowledge, skills, values, and world views.(Richards, Jack.
361-362p) Learning as a process focuses on what happens when the
learning takes place. Explanations of what happens constitute
learning theories. A learning theory is an attempt to describe
how people learn.
There are three main categories or philosophical
frameworks under which learning theories fall: behaviorism,
cognitivist, and constructivism. Behaviorism focuses only on the
objectively observable aspects of learning. It is considered a
habit to be learnt, and therefore drilled practice makes perfect,
Cognitive theories look beyond behavior to explain brain-based
learning. And constructivism views learning as a process in which
the learner actively constructs new ideas or concepts. With the
learners linking input to their own personal experience and
perceptions of the world. Input from books, people, personal
experience or practice is not seen as information to be added to
a store of knowledge, but is considered and possibly used to
reconstruct the learner"s existing internal knowledge (Nunan,
David, 60 p)
TYPES OF LEARNING
RECEPTIVE LEARNING: In this type of learning the
student only needs to understand the content to reproduce it ,
but does not discover anything
LEARNING BY DISCOVERY: The learner does not
receive a passive content, discover the concepts and their
relationships and rearranged to adapt their cognitive
schema.
ROTE LEARNING: when students memorize content
without understanding or relate prior knowledge, doesn´t
find meaning to the content
MEANINGFUL LEARNING : The learning in which the
learners relates their prior knowledge with new to form
consistency with their cognitive structures.
Ausbel said that there are three types of
meaningful learning :
a – Representational or Vocabulary
Learning:
All other types of learning depend upon this basic form,
which consists of the learning of single words or what is
represented by them. The symbol mean, first is something complete
unknown for them, something that they have to learn
b – Concept Learning or
Conceptualization
Ausbel defines concept as "object, events, situations or
properties the possess common criteria attributes and are
designated by some sign or symbol. He identifies two kind of
concept acquisition, the first occurring in young children called
concept formation and the second occurring in school children and
adult, called concept assimilation
c – Propositional
Learning:
In this form of learning, it is not simply the meaning
of single words that is learned, but the meaning of sentences
that contain composite ideas, Syntax and grammatical rules must
also be understood
LANGUAGE LEARNING METHODS
GRAMMAR TRANSLATION METHOD
Grammar-translation usually consists of an explanation
of a grammatical rule, with some example sentences, a bilingual
vocabulary list, a reading section exemplifying the grammatical
rule and incorporating the vocabulary, and exercises to practice
using the grammar and vocabulary. Most of these classes are
taught in the student's first language. The grammar-translation
method provides little opportunity for acquisition and relies too
heavily on learning
AUDIO LINGUAL METHOD
An audio-lingual lesson usually begins with a dialogue
which contains the grammar and vocabulary to be focused on in the
lesson. The students mimic the dialogue and eventually memorize
it. After the dialogue comes pattern drills, in which the
grammatical structure introduced in the dialogue is reinforced,
with these drills focusing on simple repetition, substitution,
transformation, and translation. While the audio-lingual method
provides opportunity for some acquisition to occur, it cannot
measure up to newer methods which provide much more
comprehensible input in a low-filter environment.
THE DIRECT METHOD
Several approaches have been called the "direct method";
the approach evaluated here involves all discussion in the target
language. The teacher uses examples of language in order to
inductively teach grammar; students are to try to guess the rules
of the language by the examples provided. Teachers interact with
the students a lot, asking them questions about relevant topics
and trying to use the grammatical structure of the day in the
conversation. Accuracy is sought and errors are corrected. This
method provides more comprehensible input than the methods
discussed so far, but it still focuses too much on
grammar.
TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE
Total Physical Response, or TPR, involves the students
listening and responding to commands given by the teacher such as
"sit down" and "walk," with the complexity of the commands
growing over time as the class acquires more language. Student
speech is delayed, and once students indicate a willingness to
talk they initially give commands to other students. Theory
predicts that TPR should result in substantial language
acquisition. Its content may not be always interesting and
relevant for the students, but should produce better results than
the audio-lingual and grammar-translation methods.
COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING
Communicative language teaching is different from other
approaches because it focuses on student interaction with the
teacher and other students as a means of creating language skills
in a new language.communicative language teaching relies on the
participation of the student in conversation with the instructor
and other students as a means of making the new language relevant
to the student and therefore easier to learn and
recall.
HOW TO ACQUIRE A SECOND LANGUAGE
(Kaufmann, Steven)
1. Spend the time!
By far the most important factor is how much time you
are immersed in the language. The more time you spend with the
language, the faster you will learn. This means listening,
reading, writing, speaking, and studying words and phrases. This
does not mean sitting in class looking out the window, nor
listening to other students who do not speak well, nor getting
explanations in your own language about how the language works.
This means spending time enjoyably connected to the language you
are learning.
2. Listen and read every day!
Listen wherever you are on your MP3 player. Read what
you are listening to. Listen to and read things that you like,
things that you can mostly understand, or even partly understand.
If you keep listening and reading you will get used to the
language. One hour of listening or reading is more effective than
many hours of class time.
3. Focus on words and phrases!
Build up your vocabulary, you"ll need lots. Start to
notice words and how they come together as phrases. Learn these
words and phrases through your listening and reading. Read
online, using online dictionaries, and make your own vocabulary
lists for review. Soon you will run into your new words and
phrases elsewhere. Gradually you will be able to use them. Do not
worry about how accurately you speak until you have accumulated a
plenty of words through listening and reading.
4. Take responsibility for your own
learning!
If you do not want to learn the language, you won"t. If
you do want to learn the language, take control. Choose content
of interest, that you want to listen to and read. Seek out the
words and phrases that you need to understand your listening and
reading. Do not wait for someone else to show you the language,
nor to tell you what to do. Discover the language by yourself,
like a child growing up. Talk when you feel like it. Write when
you feel like it. A teacher cannot teach you to become fluent,
but you can learn to become fluent if you want to.
THE FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE LANGUAGE
LEARNING
These factors can be broadly categorized as internal and
external. It is their complex interplay that determines the speed
and facility with which the new language is learned.
Internal factors
Internal factors are those that the individual language
learner brings with him or her to the particular learning
situation.
Age: Second language acquisition is
influenced by the age of the learner. Who already have solid
skills in their own language, seem to be in the best position
to acquire a new language efficiently. Motivated, older
learners can be very successful too, but usually struggle to
achieve nativePersonality: Introverted or anxious learners
usually make slower progress, particularly in the development
of oral skills. They are less likely to take advantage of
opportunities to speak, or to seek out such opportunities.
More outgoing students will not worry about the inevitability
of making mistakes. They will take risks, and thus will give
themselves much more practice.Motivation: Intrinsic motivation has been
found to correlate strongly with educational achievement.
Clearly, students who enjoy language learning and take pride
in their progress will do better than those who
don't.Extrinsic motivation is also a significant factor. ESL
students, for example, who need to learn English in order to
take a place at an American university or to communicate with
a new English boy/girlfriend are likely to make greater
efforts and thus greater progress.Experiences: Learners who have acquired
general knowledge and experience are in a stronger position
to develop a new language than those who haven't. The
student, for example, who has already lived in 3 different
countries and been exposed to various languages and cultures
has a stronger base for learning a further language than the
student who hasn't had such experiences.Cognition: In general, it seems that students
with greater cognitive abilities will make the faster
progress. Some believe that there is a specific innate
language learning ability that is stronger in some students
than in others.
External factors
External factors are those that characterize the
particular language learning situation
Instruction: Clearly, some language teachers
are better than others at providing appropriate and effective
learning experiences for the students in their classrooms.
These students will make faster progress.The same applies to
mainstream teachers in second language situations. The
science teacher, for example, who is aware that she too is
responsible for the students' English language development,
and makes certain accommodations, will contribute to their
linguistic developmentMotivation: Students who are given
continuing, appropriate encouragement to learn by their
teachers and parents will generally fare better than those
who aren't. For example, students from families that place
little importance on language learning are likely to progress
less quickly.Access to native speakers: The opportunity to
interact with native speakers both within and outside of the
classroom is a significant advantage. Native speakers are
linguistic models and can provide appropriate feedback.
Clearly, second-language learners who have no extensive
access to native speakers are likely to make slower progress,
particularly in the oral/aural aspects of language
acquisition.
CHAPTER II
Technology
LEARNING TECHNOLOGY
WHAT IS TECHNOLOGY?
Technology is a body of knowledge used to create tools,
develop skills, and extract or collect materials. It is also the
application of science (the combination of the scientific method
and material) to meet an objective or solve a problem.
Technology can be most broadly defined as the entities,
both material and immaterial, created by the application of
mental and physical effort in order to achieve some value. In
this usage, technology refers to tools and machines that may be
used to solve real-world problems. (Scott, Windeatt.
9p)
LEARNING TECHNOLOGY
Learning Technology is defined as: The application of
technology for the enhancement of teaching, learning and
assessment. Learning Technology includes computer-based learning
and multimedia materials and the use of networks and
communications systems to support learning. Learning Technology
clearly embraces a wide range of application.
IMPORTANCE OF TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION
Technological advancement has helped to introduce many
positive changes in the educational sector. New methods of
learning and teaching have made the process simple and more
interesting. Computer technology in schools and colleges has
helped explain subjects properly and in detail and this has
reflected in the overall performance of the students.
The Internet technology has been a revolution for the
educational sector as it is an ocean of information. Students can
search for the concepts which they learn in the books on the
Internet and find out more information on the same. Importance of
technology in physical education cannot be sidelined. Now, having
understood the importance of technology in schools (Maley, Alan.
10p)
CHANGE IN ESTUDENT AND TEACHER ROLES
STUDENT´S ROLE
When students are using technology as a tool or a
support for communicating with others, they are in an active role
rather than the passive role of recipient of information
transmitted by a teacher, textbook, or broadcast. The student is
actively making choices about how to generate, obtain,
manipulate, or display information. Technology use allows many
more students to be actively thinking about information, making
choices, and executing skills than is typical in teacher-led
lessons. Moreover, when technology is used as a tool to support
students in performing authentic tasks, the students are in the
position of defining their goals, making design decisions, and
evaluating their progress.
TEACHER"S ROLE
The teacher's role changes as well. The teacher is no
longer the center of attention as the dispenser of information,
but rather plays the role of facilitator, setting project goals
and providing guidelines and resources, moving from student to
student or group to group, providing suggestions and support for
student activity. As students work on their technology-supported
products, the teacher rotates through the room, looking over
shoulders, asking about the reasons for various design choices,
and suggesting resources that might be used. (Maley, Alan.
16p)
BENEFIT OF THE TECHNOLOGY FOR LANGUAGE
LEARNING
(Williams, Peter. 22p)
Benefit One: Bringing New Resources into the
Classroom
Since technology has become more readily available to
schools, students have access to an environment that offers a
wider range of learning modalities. The emergence of
telecommunication brings a world of new possibilities to the
classroom and dissolves the physical barriers to experiential
learning. In addition, appropriate use of technology can engage
students in fully exercising their potentials or
"intelligences.",
Benefit Two: Motivating Learners
Learning through technology is far more exciting than
traditional lecture and practice modes. Educational technology
reaches students through a variety of senses, keeping them alert
and interested in classroom activities. In addition, students
actively involved in learning with technology assume
responsibility for their education, developing the skills to
continue learning years after formal education has
concluded.
Benefit Three: Providing New Teaching
Tools
Technology enables teachers to create new tools to
facilitate instruction. These tools can often prepare students
for the world beyond the classroom, helping them develop higher
level thinking skills."
Benefit Four: Accommodating Different Learning
Styles
If students are to learn to the best of their abilities,
they must be taught in the way they learn best. Research on
learning styles has found that most students are concrete
learners. Who learn best through interpersonal communication,
group learning.
Teachers find that many modes of technology can be used
to meet the educational needs of a variety of students, allowing
them to work individually or in small cooperative-learning
groups. Students can effectively learn, whatever their
style.
Benefit Five: Redefining the Role of
Teachers
Technology particularly the computer and high-quality
software enhances the opportunities for individual and group
learning by providing students with a variety of resources and
tools. Teachers, therefore, are allowed to assume the role of
facilitator of learning rather than distributor of information.
When used effectively, technology opens a world of possibilities
for teachers and students. Effective applications of technology
challenge students to use higher-level thinking skills and become
active seekers rather than passive receivers of
information.
THE INTERNET
Graham David said that the internet is a computer
network connecting millions of computers all over the world. It
provides communications to governments, businesses, universities,
schools and homes. Any modern computer can be connected to the
Internet using existing communications systems
THE WORLD WIDE WEB
This is the most powerful and fastest growing Internet
service, now known simply as the Web. The Web is accessed by
means of a computer program known as a browser. Using a browser
you can access websites all over the world and download pages of
information. Most Web pages include pictures, and many include
audio, animated graphics, video and links (Sharma, Pete,
17p)
The www is as diverse as human experience and with its
graphical interface and ability to integrate text, sound, video,
and pictures in a communications environment, it is a very
realistic and accessible place to find authentic information for
the language classroom. Thanks to hypermedia (known as links) it
is possible to move from one place on the web to another without
having to follow a linear path. The web can be navigated
according to how and individual thinks. (Maley, Alan.
24p)
INTERNET FOR LANGAUGE LEARNING
The internet promotes the communication between people,
separated by time, distance or both. The internet is a wonderful
tool to learn English as a foreign language. There is tons of
various information in Internet that the learners can find
different materials and tools to help them to learn English. With
the internet the Learners have access to practice or review any
topic outside the language classroom and it can make learners
more autonomous.
When we consider the role of technology, it is very
helpful to distinguish between the language skill (reading,
listening, writing , speaking) these have traditionally been
divided into productive and receptive skills. And there are
differences in the types of practice required to develop each of
the four skills.
In the area of receptive skills of listening and
reading, it is possible to identify a clear role played by a web
based environment in providing exposure. Listening to digital
audio, Learners have the opportunity to pause at will, and listen
and read a transcript. Reading on screen, Learners can access
meaning on demand by clicking on a hyperlink to find out the
meaning of a word.
The productive skill of writing and speaking the
learners can make a free composition using dictionary online or
create a blog with their personal information. In the internet
exist a lot of interactive exercises and activities to practice
their speaking. There are many clearly benefits to be derived
from integrating technology into learning.
WHY USE THE INTERNET FOR LANGUAGE
LEARNING?
The internet is beginning to transform language
learning, first of all by making available to teachers and
students an enormous range of information and resources.
Information, on virtually any subject, and resources, including
articles, stories, poems, books, video and audio clips, music,
and millions of images, are all only a few mouse clicks
away.
As a means of communications, the internet allows
students around the world to interact with one another cheaply,
quickly, and reliably, opening up the classroom to the real world
in a way which has never before been possible.
Because the internet is such a powerful tool for
information and communication, there can be much more integration
of computer works into the language curriculum. Both teachers and
students can start to use the internet as a source of material
for learning and newspapers, television, audio, and video.
Eventually, they will probably use more internet-based than print
resources, simply because these will be more easily available.
(Scott, Windeatt. 12p)
TOOLS AND MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY
(Sharma, Pete.35-60p)
THE WEB: USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS
WEBSITE
A website is a collection of web pages, (documents that
are accessed through the Internet) There are millions of
accessible web pages in the fastest and most effective way to
find what you and your learners need. The best way to find
something on the web is to use a browser. The three most popular
browser are:
Yahoo http:/search.yahoo.com
MSN http:/search.msn.com
One of the benefits of the Web is the ability to easily
access authentic material. Such material can be of great value
for discussion classes, debates or project work in which learners
need to explore the topic, separating the headlines from the text
as a predicting exercise or creating a exercise to match. As well
as using the wen as a source of text to adapt, choose and modify
texts themselves to use in the classroom.
BLOGS
Blogs are web pages created by individuals or groups and
stored on the internet. They usually include text and images.
Blogs are an ideal space to write about your ideas and opinions.
Blogs are often used like an online diary, giving regular updates
on what"s happening. The benefits of blogs are:
Students can reflect on their own
learning and give and receive feedback.Students can use blogs to develop a
topic of interest.Teachers can offer support and guidance
while the learner can ask further questions.
WIKIS
Wikis are web pages that can be created and edited by a
group of people. Anyone in the group can add information and
change bits here and there. The most famous wiki is the online
encyclopedia is Wikipedia. All wikis rely on people working
together to create a series of web pages.
Members of the group use a shared online space to
contribute material and edit or update it regularly. They
can add new pages and links between pages. Wikis are very
creative and dynamic. They are a perfect tool to explore topics
quickly. The learners feel far greater ownership of their
work. Wikis can create a sense of community by giving
all pupils a say in.
PODCASTS
A podcast is an audio or video file that you save on
computer. You can listen to or view podcasts on a computer,
various types of MP3 player, or mobile phone.
Podcasts can be used in various ways to support teaching
and learning in and out of school. For example: podcasts can be
used to share recordings of lessons Teachers can find and share
podcasts that are relevant to coursework or the students can
create their own podcasts of presentations, interviews, music,
plays and debates, the teacher can prepare materials such as
comprehension question, vocabulary sheets. etc.
WEBQUEST
Webquests are research activities that require learners
to collect information about a subject using the web. The
websquest inquiry-base lessons, the students work systematically,
individually or in group. The task usually involve a problem that
students must solve and report on them.
MUSIC TECHNOLOGY
In the internet exist different pages where the learners
can choose the music according to the topic that their need. This
offer the possibility to practice the grammar and pronunciation
with the music. the learners can access to listening from native
speakers.
ELECTRONIC DICTIONARIES:
CD-ROM DICTIONARIES
CD-ROM dictionaries offer the chance to expand their
vocabulary, inside and outside the classroom. Dictionaries can
help learners in the area of pronunciation, using technology to
work on the pronunciation of a difficult sound.
ONLINE DICTIONARIES
Many dictionaries are now available online. Online
dictionaries are often supported by resources such as
downloadable worksheets, interactive games and new word.
Examples:
Cambridge Dictionaries Online
http://dictionary.cambridge.org.
this side include the possibility of searching several
dictionaries, such as the Cambridge Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs
and the Cambridge Dictionary of idioms.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Online
http://www.idoceonline.com
this includes the pronunciation of selected examples of
words and sentences.
Oxford Advanced Learner"s Dictionary
Online
http://www.oup.com
The search result of many words includes a drop-down
menu. This enables users to go directly to a particular idiom or
expression.
PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DICTIONARIES
(PEDs)
PEDs often include extensive vocabularies, grammar
references, phrase banks containing colloquial expressions and
common phrasal, and other information, such as list of irregular
verbs. Include the pronunciation.
Some advantages of using electronic dictionaries include
the fact they are portable, and can be taken on trips, used in
lectures and so on. This allows for just-in-time access and means
learners can use them to access meaning on the move, in museums,
while shopping; the possibilities are endless.
OFFICE SOFTWARE
PRESENTATION SOFTWARE
These program allow you to prepare a presentation made
up of electronic slides, which can contain text, pictures and
diagrams. hyperlinks to documents, web pages and multimedia
elements such as audio clips. The most popular program is
PowerPoint from Microsoft. The principal use for presentation
software is making presentations. You can use it as a classroom
tool to support input lesson for areas such as grammar or
functional language, diagrams, examples or list of
exponents
INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARDS
Interactive whiteboards are large touch-sensitive boards
connected to a digital projector and a computer. They are usually
at the front of the class, in place of a blackboard or
traditional whiteboard.
The teacher and students can work with the interactive
whiteboard to move and change images, text and objects. With some
interactive whiteboards you do this with your finger. On others,
you use a special wireless pen.
Lessons are easy to save and use again, and can include
sounds, video and animation. Their big attraction in schools is
allowing whole classes to interact with the same content at the
same time. Interaction is an important part of learning and can
be much more powerful than just reading or hearing about
something.
An IWB is a perfect way to provide warmers,
introductions to a topic, practice activities and so on. Learners
can also come to the front of the class to demonstrate something
or annotate the screen, An IWB can be used to promote group
interaction and communication.
COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION
TEXT CHAT
Learners may well be already using text chat and
communicating in English with friends across the world as part of
their everyday lives. Teacher can incorporate similar activities
in their classes and have their learners communicate with other
learners around the world.
Chat offer learners a chance to develop their language
abilities. For instance, they are using the keyboard in real
time, and concentrating on fluency and communication, when text
chat conversation partners do not understand what a learner has
written, they will tell them. Forcing the writer to rephrase his
or her message. This negotiating of meaning can arguably work
towards improving your learners language abilities.
ELECTRONIC MAIL (E-MAIL)
E-mail stand for electronic mail. The sending and
receiving of emails. Actually the teachers have an email account
and most learners too.
It is possible send an email to one person or many. ,
with this tool the teacher can send and receive homework task,
the learners can work together composing an email. This is a good
medium to send a real world message, about a change of classroom
or any suggestions.
VIDEO CONFERENCING
Video conferencing allows people in different locations
to have a conversation where they can see and hear each other
talking. It is also known as video chat or a video call. One of
the big benefits is bringing together learners in
different locations, especially when a face-to-face visit is not
possible.
MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES
The term "mobile technologies" often refers to mobile phones
and smart phones (that is, mobile phones with in-built computer
functions). It also applies to laptops, media players, digital
cameras and e-book readers.
Mobile technologies have benefits as• supporting learners
learning inside and outside the classroom • giving learners
flexible access to information, resources and tools • making
learning a personal experience
CHAPTER III
Didactive
application
I. COMPARATIVE AS A TEACHING TOPIC
The next questions have the purpose of specifying the level of
difficulty for the topic COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES and the most
effective method to teach it, We have formulated them taking into
account the skills used in the learning of this topic
HOW DO THE LEARNERS BENEFIT FROM USING TECHNOLOGY IN
THE LESSON?
The technology brings to learners new resources into the
classroom; Learning through technology is far more exciting than
traditional class. And the learners have access to differents
tools and material in internet.
AT WHAT LEVEL IS IT IMPORTANT THE USE OF
COMPARATIVE?
The use of comparative adjective is especially important at
higher English levels (intermediate level and advanced
level.)
WHICH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHOD WILL BE THE
MOST
EFFECTIVE IN COMPARATIVES ADJECTIVES?
Teaching comparatives adjectives has to be related to
encourage the students to express their ideas, And the goal of
teachers who use the COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING is to enable
students to communicate in the target language. To do this
students need knowledge of the linguistic forms, meanings, and
functions.
They need to know that many different forms can be used
to perform a function and also that a single form can often serve
a variety of functions. They must be able to choose from among
these the most appropriate form, given the social context and the
roles of the interlocutors. The language teaching method which
would be the most effective in teaching comparative adjectives is
the communicative language teaching.
II. THE COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE
TEACHING
The goal of most of the methods is for students to learn
to communicate in the target language. In the 1970s, though,
educators began to question if they were going about meeting the
goal in the right way. Some observed that students could produce
sentences accurately in a lesson, but could not use them
appropriately when genuinely communicating outside of the
classroom. Others noted that being able to communicate required
more than mastering linguistic structures. Students may know the
rules of linguistic usage, but be unable to use the language
(Widdowson 1978). It became clear that communication required
that students perform certain functions as well, such as
promising, inviting, and declining invitations with in a social
context (Wilkins 1976).
Being able to communicate required more than linguistic
competence; it required communicative competence (Hymes 1971)
knowing when and how to say what to whom. Such observations
contributed to a shift in the field in the late 1970s and early
1980s from a linguistic structure centered approach to a
Communicative Approach (Widdowson 1990).
Communicative Language Teaching aims broadly to apply
the theoretical perspective of the Communicative Approach by
making communicative competence the goal of language teaching and
by acknowledging the
Interdependence of language and communication. (LARSEN
FREEMAN, Diane 2008 p.121)
2.1 PRINCIPLES OF THE COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE
TEACHING
(Larsen Freeman, Diana 2008 p.125-128)
1) Whenever possible, "authentic language"
– language as it is used in a real context –
should be introduced.2) Being able to figure out the speaker"s or
writer"s intentions is part of being communicatively
competent.3) The target language is a vehicle for
classroom communication, not just the object of
study4) One function can have many different
linguistic forms. Since the focus of the course is on real
language use, a variety of linguistic forms are presented
together. The emphasis is on the process of communication
rather than just mastery of language forms5) Students should work with language at the
discourse or suprasentential (above the sentence) level. They
must learn about cohesion and coherence, those properties of
language which bind the sentences together.6) Games are important because they have
certain features in common with real communicative events
– there is a purpose to the exchange. Also, the speaker
receives immediate feedback from the listener on whether or
not she has successfully communicated. In this way they
can
negotiate meaning. Finally, having students work in
small groups maximizes the amount of communicative practice they
receive.
7) Students should be given an opportunity to
express their ideas and opinions.8) Errors are tolerated and seen as a natural
outcome of the development of communication skills. Since
this activity was working on fluency, the teacher did not
correct the student, but simply noted the error, which he
will return to at a later point.9) One of the teacher´ major
responsibilities is to establish situations likely to promote
communications.10) Communicative interaction encourages
cooperative relationships among students. It gives students
an opportunity to work on negotiating meaning.11) The social context of the communicative
event is essential in giving meaning to the
utterances.12) Learning to use language forms
appropriately is an important part of communicative
competence.13) The teacher acts as a facilitator in
setting up communicative activities and as an advisor during
the activities.14) In communicating, a speaker has a choice
not only about what to say, but also how to say
it.15) The grammar and vocabulary that the
students learn follow from the function, situational context,
and the roles of the interlocutors.16) Students should be given opportunities to
listen language as it is used in authentic communication.
They may be coached on strategies for how to improve their
comprehension.
REVIEWING THE TECHNIQUES AND THE MATERIALS OF THE
CLT
(LARSEN FREEMAN, Diane 2008 p.132-135)
There may be aspects of the CLT that you find appealing.
This review has been provided in the event you wish to try to use
any of the techniques or materials associated with the
CLT.
1) Realia
To overcome the typical problem that students cannot
transfer what they learn in the classroom to the outside world
and to expose students to natural language in a variety of
situations, adherents of the CLT advocate the use of language
materials authentic to native speakers of the target
language
Of course, For students with lower proficiency in the
target language, it may not be possible to use [high level
proficiency] language materials (…). More accessible
materials , or at least ones that are realistic, are most
desirable.
With a lower level class it is possible to use realia
that do not contain a lot of language, but a bout which a lot of
discussion could be generated. Menus in the target language are
an example; timetables are another.
2) Scrambled sentences
The students are given a passage (a text) in which the
sentences are in a scrambled order. This may be a passage they
have worked with or one they have not seen before. They are told
to unscramble the sentences so that the sentences are restored to
their original order.
This type of exercise teaches students about the
cohesion and coherence properties of language. They learn how
sentences are bound together at the suprasentential level through
formal linguistic devices such as pronouns, which make a text
cohesive, and semantic propositions, which unify a text and make
it coherent.
3) Language games
Games are use frequently in the CLT. The students find
them enjoyable, and if they are properly designed, they give
students valuable communicative practice.
4) Picture Strip Story
Many activities can be done with picture strip stories.
We suggested one in our discussion of scrambled
sentences.
5) Role Playing
Role plays are very important in CLT because they give
the students an opportunity to practice communicating in
different social contexts and in different social
roles.
Role plays can be set up so that they are very
structured (for example, the teacher tells the students who they
are and what they should say) or in a less structured way (for
example, the teacher tells the students who they are, what the
situation is, and what they are talking about, but the students
determine what they will say). The latter is more in keeping with
CLT, of course, because it gives the students more of a choice.
Notice that role plays structured like this also provide
information gaps since students cannot be sure (as with most
forms of communication) what the other person or people will say
(there is a natural unpredictability). Students also receive
feedback on whether or not they have effectively
communicated
III. DIDACTIC APPLICATION
This monograph has the purpose of provide relevant
information related with the technology and language learning,
the formation have been given and explained in the first chapter.
In this part called "DIDACTIC APPLICATION" we are going to apply
the theory into a Lesson Plan that will be sustained in a Model
Class to a jury.
3.1. LESSON PLAN
In the next page we have prepared a Lesson Plan which
develops an item of Comparative Adjectives with follows a method
of language teaching, and since the Education Ministry is
suggesting apply the Communicative Language Teaching (CTL) as
better in order to make students learn easily in a communication
environment.
LESSON PLAN
I.-GENERAL INFORMATION:
1.1. – Level: Secondary 1.2. – Area:
English 1.3. – Class: Tatiana is taller
than…… 1.4. – Time: 20 min. 1.5.- Date:
January 05th, 2011.
1.6. – Teacher: Bach. Jackeline Nina
Morales
TATIANA IS TALLER
THAN………
WORKSHEET
Topic : ________________ Name:
______________________________________
Date : January 05TH, 2011 Teacher:
Jackeline Nina Morales. Class : 3th "A"
I. Write the comparative form
of these adjectives
a. Famous : ______________ g.
Polite : _______________b. Friendly: ______________
h.Thin : _______________c. Good : ______________ i. Bad
: _______________d. Heavy : ______________ j.
Strong: _______________e. Beautiful: ______________ k.
Sociable : ______________f. Strong : ______________ l.
fat : ______________
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